You Decide How You Think - Dear America

Dear America,

For the past several days there have been riots and protests in America and I don't know what to write. It's pretty rare for me to ever be at a loss for words, however the conflict we're facing is hardly simple. Personally, I don't like to write about politics, although I do enjoy reading about it and discussing the topic. It would seem that the festering wounds of the 2010's, which injected a heavy dose of steroids into our tribalistic tendencies, has only continued to balloon outward. I don't know what it is about the people of my generation, but we seem to have a fascination with categorizing viewpoints and putting people in boxes. This habit has the tendency of putting us in a situation where we frequently can only decide whether we are for or against something.

For the most part, I try to avoid the box whenever possible. When people ask me if I'm a conservative or a liberal, my answer is routinely "I'm just Brett Calhoun." This doesn't mean that I'm not aware of the strife between these more popular factions. I try to look at things from both sides though, even if I find one particular viewpoint loathsome.

In any case though, let's get back to the matter at hand. I'm not going to tell you how to feel. Should you be angry at the police over how certain demographics have been historically treated by them? Are the protests and riots justified? Does one particular political party get credit on how things are being mishandled? I honestly don't really know the answers to these questions as I don't think I have all the facts. I'm not going to ask you to think one particular way regardless though. The one thing that I would ask is that you make that decision on your own. Whether you decide to put yourself in a box or go all-in on individualism, that's your call to make and yours alone.

I intend to keep writing and hope that things get better out there.

Sincerely,

Calhoun